If there are bluefish in the area and they aren't coming to your slick, or the competition is heavy from other boats chumming, drop the chum bag down in the water and let the slick run heavy for a while. This can get things going and even steal a school away from a nearby boat. Once the action starts, back off on the chum or you'll end up feeding the fish instead of attracting them to your baited hooks.

You can also spice up your slick with some liquid bunker oil, which is a trick the kingfish pros use. Take a plastic soda bottle, and poke a small hole in the cap. Fill the bottle about a quarter full with bunker oil, tie a piece of monofilament around the bottom and hang it upside down over the side. The bunker oil will slowly drip into the water, creating a monster slick on the surface and adding a lot of additional scent -- without adding more pieces of chum for the blues to eat.

GO FISH!
The slick is cooking, blues are there and it's time to get down to fishing. You can start out by baiting up a couple of medium weight outfits -- those 12-pound-test baitcasters are fine -- and set one up with no weight and the other with a 1/4-ounce rubber core or egg sinker. Put different baits on the two rigs, maybe a smelt on one and a bunker back on the other, and start drifting them back in the slick. Work your baits well back into the slick and if nothing happens, reel them back and do it again.

After 15 minutes, if you haven't received a bite, start changing things. Switch baits, try more weight to get one of the baits deeper into the slick, try a red wire leader, or you can even switch one outfit away from wire altogether by using an 80-pound fluorocarbon leader to see if the fish are leader shy. Keep making changes until you get the fish going.

Pay attention to currents and tides. Sometimes blues will not feed on a slack tide, but as soon as it starts running, they'll start eating. On some days, it seems that no matter what you do, the blues will be accommodating, but on others, they can be horribly finicky. On those days, until you hit on just the right combination, they won't bite. When bluefish are like that, keep switching things, making little changes. It can make the difference between getting bites and getting bored.

If the bite is on and the fish are running in a specific size range, switch off to the tackle most appropriate to provide you with the most fun. If the fishing is hot and heavy, don't hesitate to switch away from bait altogether and cast spoons, jigs, bucktails or even poppers back into the slick. Poppers are particularly effective if you have the blues chummed up high in the water column. If you see them swirling on the surface, that's the signal for "poppers away!" It's also a good time to do a little fly-casting.

Keep these suggestions in mind the next time you decide to go wrestle with hard-fighting blues. If you do, you're likely to have a great time with these wonderful fish. Get them really going in the slick and you will be going home arm-weary, tired, and content.